The NCAA has denied? Notre Dame's?appeal of a decision to vacate 21 victories because of academic misconduct, including all 12 wins from the school's 2012 national championship game run. In a letter to Notre Dame alumni, University President Fr. John Jenkins?criticized the decision, saying the penalty was unprecedented considering who was involved in the misconduct, and the school was being punished for rigorously enforcing its honor code. "We are deeply disappointed by and strongly disagree with the denial of the University's appeal, announced today by the NCAA," Jenkins said in the letter. "To impose a severe penalty for this retroactive ineligibility establishes a dangerous precedent and turns the seminal concept of academic autonomy on its head. At best, the NCAA's decision in this case creates a randomness of outcome based solely on how an institution chooses to define its honor code; at worst, it creates an incentive for colleges and universities to...